Sam Baird

As the nights draw in and the clocks go back, it is also that time of the year when I take a close look at the battle for tour places from the start of the 2016/17 season. As regular readers will be well aware, to fully understand how each of the current tour players are currently placed, it is necessary to analyse a number of different ranking lists and orders of merit.

With two of the biggest money events to come in the International Championship and UK Championship tournaments, today I take my first player-by-player look at the current state of play and flag up some of the surprise names with work to do if they are to remain on tour for another season…

Two ranking tournaments into the 2015/16 campaign, already it is possible to identify some of the players who are sure of being on the main tour next season and perhaps more importantly, those whose places are at real risk.

With every pound, dollar or euro to be earned during the remainder of this season likely to be crucial, today I take my customary look at the likely qualification criteria and look at some of those to follow over the coming months…

While the wait goes on for information as to the various seeding cut-offs and other ranking information for the 2015/16 season, the action is now very much underway with the qualifiers for the Australian Goldfields Open this week in Crawley.

As was the case last year, it is interesting then to take a look at the current world ranking list and try to pick out a few potential stories that may well develop during the next months.

After all, already a year ago it was possible to see that Ding Junhui would have an excellent chance of claiming the world number one ranking (which he did in December), while players such as Stephen Maguire and Nigel Bond would have work to do in order to stay inside the top 16 and top 64 respectively…

So it begins, tomorrow will see the start of the 2014 World Championship qualifiers and with them, the climax of the race for main tour places, which I have been talking about so much during the past few months.

Though you can view my extended player-by-player guide to tour survival here, this then is the post that will be updated throughout this week’s matches, making focusing on those which could prove key to certain players hopes of remaining on the main tour for at least another season…

Day one at the Welsh Open in Newport and it has been a case of so far, so good for the top players in action, with former champions Stephen Maguire, Ding Junhui, Ali Carter and Ronnie O’Sullivan among the winners today.

Click below for a round-up of Wednesday’s action at the Newport Centre…

As those of you who have followed my updates both on the blog and on Twitter will be aware (and probably sick of reading), it has been a big weekend in Gdynia for those players battling it out for their main tour places for next season, with eight places available through the European Order of Merit.

Click below then for a round-up of how the various lists look after the tournament and what now can change between now and the end of the season…

The eighth event of the 2013/14 European Tour is now underway in Gdynia and as explained earlier in the week, the implications of the event in terms of tour survival is significant, with the finalisation of the European Order of Merit after this event.

Click below for my rolling blog which will be updated throughout the day, flagging up the results to keep an eye on and those currently in position to retain a tour card through this list. I will also keep an eye on the race for PC finals spots, wherever that event will ultimately end up taking place…